Even though I’ve personally communicated with tens of thousands of drivers over the past few years, it’s always good to back up everything I’ve learned about drivers with some data. For example, I’ve been telling people for years that drivers stay busier with Uber but prefer driving for Lyft, but when you get a thousand other people to confirm it, your argument becomes a lot more convincing.

This year’s survey ended up being one of the largest rideshare driver surveys ever conducted. We received 1,150 total responses from drivers primarily from platforms like Uber and Lyft. If you filled out the survey, thank you! I personally reviewed every single entry (and yes, it did take a long time) but the feedback was invaluable for me and we were able to uncover some interesting observations and trends for rideshare drivers. Here’s what we found:

(If you’d like to review our full PDF report of the data, please click here. If you’re a media member or researcher and would like to see a full list of questions and/or calculations, please contact me.)

Driver Satisfaction With Uber

There’s a lot of turnover in the rideshare industry, with half of all Uber drivers quitting after just one year, but for the ones that remain behind, more Uber drivers are satisfied than dissatisfied. Of the 863 drivers who indicated they primarily drive for Uber, 49.4% agreed with the statement that they are ‘satisfied with their Uber driving experience’, while just 36.2% disagreed with that statement.

But as most drivers already know, some parts about driving for Uber are not so satisfying! Uber launched UberPool in 2015, but the confusing pay structure and additional hassle of picking up and dropping off multiple riders has been a major pain point for drivers. Predictably, we found that 56.5% of drivers disagreed with the statement that ‘they are satisfied with their UberPool experience’.

What Matters Most to Drivers?

Almost all of the articles in our top ten traffic rankings have to do with money (how much can I make, how to earn more, etc) so it’s no surprise that 53.5% of all drivers indicate pay is the most important thing to them. And while pay has gone down for drivers over the years, it’s still one of the more flexible jobs available as seen below.

Money is also a big theme when it comes to why drivers are signing up for these services in the first place, with 51.9% indicating that they signed up because they needed ‘extra money’.

How Much Do Uber Drivers Make?

I’ve always had a problem with the earnings figures that on-demand companies advertise to prospective drivers. Many drivers end up earning much less than advertised and one of the biggest complaints I hear is that they’re not making enough money. But just how much is ‘enough’ is obviously up to interpretation. We found that Uber drivers reported earning $15.68 per hour, but since drivers are also responsible for gas, maintenance and depreciation, that number is likely less.

Lyft Drivers are Happier, Higher Paid and Higher Rated

I’ve always felt that Lyft was the more driver-friendly company and, based off our survey results from drivers who indicated they primarily drive for Lyft, an astounding 75.8% of them were satisfied with their Lyft driving experience compared to just 49.4% on Uber.

We also asked that same group of drivers about their earnings, and they reported averaging around $17.50 per hour or almost $2/hour more than what was reported by Uber drivers. It should be noted that Lyft drivers can receive tips in the app, and Lyft rates tend to be higher across the board but, like with Uber, drivers are still responsible for their expenses.

Lyft drivers also reported an average rating of 4.88 while Uber was slightly lower at 4.84.

Who Do Drivers Work for?

Since Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors, they are technically allowed to work for other companies, and we found that 67% of drivers (+/- 3%) reported working for at least two services.

Note: There is a 3% error margins since 3% of drivers indicated zero on-demand services, but in order to answer this set of questions, they also indicated that they were a rideshare driver for at least >0 months.

Although a majority of the drivers on our e-mail list are doing multiple services, it should be noted that 75% of drivers indicated that they still primarily drive for Uber.

But Lyft was a close second to Uber when it came to which company drivers prefer to drive for.

Driver Demographics and Discrepancies

This year we also asked drivers specific questions around demographics and found that 19% of Uber drivers and 19.2% of Lyft drivers are females – and that’s higher than the national average of 12.7% for taxi drivers and chauffeurs and much higher than the 1% of New York cabbies who are women. We also took a look at earnings by gender and found that women reported earning $14.26/hour, while their male counterparts reported earning $16.61/hour. This discrepancy could be explained by time of day/night, which was not something we controlled for.

Despite passenger demographics that favor the young, driver demographics are skewed the other direction, with 54% of drivers indicating they are 51 or over and 77.5% of drivers indicating they are 41 or older.

Those in the 61+ range reported almost $3 per hour less than the 18-30 category, and there was a distinct negative correlation that we found between increased age and lower reported earnings, which could also be a function of what hours were worked.

Rideshare drivers reported as being predominantly white, making up 78.3% of total drivers, which is higher than the national (regular population) average of 62.6%. Other ethnicities like Hispanic/Latino reported just 7.1% compared to the national average of 17.2% and Black/African Americans reported 6.8% compared to the national average of 13.2%.

Our research did find some pay discrepancies among certain ethnicities, with Black/African-American drivers (Uber and Lyft) reporting that they earned $13.96 per hour compared to the average reported hourly earnings of $16.08 for all Uber and Lyft drivers.

Drivers are well educated, with 53.3% of drivers reporting they have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to the national average of 33%.

If you’d like to read our full report on this topic, please click here. And if you’re a media member or researcher and would like to see a full list of questions and/or calculations, please contact me.

Drivers, what do you think about the results and what stands out to you? Are you surprised by the average hourly earnings, satisfaction levels or demographics?

-Harry @ RSG

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I'm Harry, the owner and founder of The Rideshare Guy Blog and Podcast. I used to be a full-time engineer but now I'm a rideshare blogger! I write about my experience driving for Uber, Lyft, and other services and my goal is to help drivers earn more money by working smarter, not harder.

As far as the earning discrepancies between men/women and old/young I have to believe much of that is related to WHEN people drive. Friday/Sat nights are obviously one of the times when you’re busiest and when your earnings get a boost but I’m guessing a higher % of women and older people avoid these times for one reason or another. It would have been a good idea to maybe include a question related to how late people drive (especially on weekend nights) because I have to believe that would have shown a correlation to gender and age. Many women riders I’ve had over the years who’ve indicated an interest in driving have asked about the safety of driving and my response always is that while I’ve never really felt unsafe, if you want to avoid any potential issues just don’t drive late at night because if something is going to happen it’ll typically involve excessive alcohol consumption which is mostly a Fri/Sat night thing.

Yea that’s what I figured too but we didn’t look at times people drove – definitely something we’ll add for next year though.

W. Curtis Preston

I love this survey.

You know what would be really interesting for next year’s survey, Harry. Ask people to list their total earnings for the year and the total number of miles they are claiming on their tax returns. Also ask if they’ve calculated their actual TCM.

thomasah

I’m 72 and drive part time, primarily weekends (Friday night, Saturday, Sunday) for about 25 to 30 hours. My average so far this year is $16.12/hour before expenses. Not great, but better than watching TV at home. The hours I drive are usually from 6PM to 3AM, Friday, 4PM to 3AM on Saturday, and Sunday from 1PM to 9PM. Sunday is the slowest day.

Are there any challenges that you specifically face that you think cause you to earn less?

thomasah

Definitely. Uber pool is one. Although we are paid for time and mileage from start to end, the time is rate is 30% less, and the waiting time for riders can exceed the 2 or 3 minutes allowed. On a single pool “chain” of 4 riders, the overall waiting time can be over 10 minutes, not to mention the additional time for drop-offs. Waiting time between rides, especially at airports and casinos. Plus, for me, driving 45 miles (Hobart, IN to Chicago) with the app on and not getting any hits. Uber has over-saturated my area.

W. Curtis Preston

But that would apply equally to all, right? (The pool part.)

Fail Bot

Was location much of a factor in the study because it’s everything, right?

Fail Bot

You’re 72 and you drive 11 straight hours on Saturday? I don’t think you’re in any norm, certainly not in age group. You have more stamina than I do, and I’m not half your age!

thomasah

Although it looks like a lot of hours, I do take breaks and sometimes a nap at Midway Airport. The best way to drive a long time is to get out of the car. I open doors for pax sometimes, walk a little at the airports, help load and unload luggage. I think the key to driving a lot of hours is to get out of the car whenever possible as S T R E C H a little. Also don’t eat heavy foods (burgers,etc). Snack on veggies. drink a little coffee, lemon-water, iced tea. It help keeps me alert.

Fail Bot

I like your style. I can definitely second that income has gone down from a year ago, and I drive Lyft. Lyft copied Uber’s pool. But it’s lowered rates and more competition with saturation from drivers no doubt. When I first started last year, consistently I was making double per day than I am now. I used to just work 3 days, now I do 6 and barely cover the same income.

thomasah

I’m curious. Where do you drive? I’m in Chicago and NW Indiana.

Fail Bot

I drive in San Francisco mostly. I’ve talked to former Lyft drivers from all eras and figured out the rise and fall of the gig:

The first beta rides were voluntary. Drivers didn’t make crap. People would stiff them for long rides. When they introduced rates and surge/prime time it’s what I call the golden era, people pulling in $80,000+. As the years progressed rates went down, vehicle standards went up, and the number of drivers increased. All of this lead to lower income and higher costs.
I started driving right at the end of that. The final era is when the city finally reached saturation. So many drivers that surge became rare and short lived, airports have a queue of over 100 rideshare drivers waiting for a pickup, and you can drive around a metropolis without a ride on bad nights for over an hour. SF goes through a lot of seasonal fluctuations and weather has a big impact, but overall, even on a great night, like New Year’s eve, not as much income as an average Sunday last April.

That saturation will hit every city sooner or later. It will squeeze out some drivers, and it will never pay as well as it did before. This is great for customers, not so much for drivers.

I am a young 64 and drive part-time 4 to 5 days a week, only during daylight hours. I never drive at night because of headlights glare which affect my vision and I do not want to deal with rowdy/drunk people. Without boost/surge, I earn between $15.00 to $20.00/hour depending on the day. I found that after 6 hours of driving, I am tired and go home.

DW007

I’d like to congratulate HARRY for his tremendous work in bringing this information to everyone. Knowledge is power. Knowledge helps you gain a better, “big picture” view of what your doing and how it compares to others doing the same basic work. Harry has done a great job with RSG to keep workers in a (basically) brand new field informed, advised and educated. Regardless of how you feel about these companies, or the work itself, few have worked harder than HARRY to keep you informed and provide you a venue to speak out on the issues. Keep up the good work, HARRY.

Thanks. Wasn’t sure if it was obvious how much work this was to put together but happy to keep on doing it and providing drivers with the good AND the bad about what it’s like to be a rideshare driver 🙂

john

I’d like to quit my Engineering job and do this for a living but someone beat me to it! Great job Harry!

boxdin

Once again good article w good research etc. I’m 64 and driving uber/lyft 3 yrs now. Sometimes I wake up very early, 2-4 am and go driving, but I try to stay away from drunks at night, but by 4 am they have sobered enough to help me get them home. No tips in early am and I try to be back home by rush hour. I’ll go out again around 3pm to 7 pm or so where couples are going out for dinner etc and tips are very good at this time. Uber drivers will never know the joy I get from a 10 buck tip on a 9 buck ride like last week, or yesterday a 5 buck tip on a 4 buck ride. I don’t drive uber much at all having grown tired of uber attempts to make themselves look great while insulting drivers intelligence daily. I wonder if some of these tippers are lyft employees spreading cash around to make us feel good. Yes I am a skeptic.

Thanks for sharing – does seem like many drivers are getting tired of Uber’s antics.

JackM

Harry, let me add to those who wish to compliment you on your yeoman’s work. The one question that stands out in my mind is for driver’s who have the Uber/Lyft option, which do they prefer and why Also, in which cities this preference is expressed. I drive in Chicago and quit driving Uber in October to go solely with Lyft. I still activate their app but that is to keep their information flowing to me. I’ve got several friends and family members who drive, but I’m the only “Lyft” driver. Ease/difficulty in applying seems to be the biggest issue for them. Uber’s satellite offices makes it so that you can walk in and start driving within the hour.

The issue for many drivers (and former drivers) that I’ve met is the ability to keep their vehicle operating. Two I know have gone to the rental approach because their vehicle repair costs are unrealistic. Others have gone that route but found that falling behind on ride count is almost worse.

Finally, I would say that your respondents and readers are the more intelligent of drivers, and thus represent a small (but accurate) segment. I preach to people about reading your site, a few who have followed my advice decided not to drive. Others ask me how I know so much about the industry but are too lazy to read what I learn here.

Keep up the great work, you cover so many topics that you are a true industry resource. While not everything is applicable in every market your readers are able to see ahead of the curve.

Stating that there is income inequality even in rideshare driving isn’t a “narrative.” It’s simply a fact. It is small, but it is there. The interesting question would be why it exists.

It’s not like a woman or person of color is getting paid less per drive. The only reason for the disparity is that they get fewer drives. I’m SURE that it’s not Uber/Lyft saying “I’m going to give this white guy more rides than this African American Female.” But what MIGHT be happening is racist or sexist pax cancelling their ride once they see something they don’t like on the screen. This was discussed in the blog article “Are rideshare drivers racist?” https://therideshareguy.com/are-rideshare-drivers-actually-racist/

While the article focuses on the driver side of things, there is a section talking about the passenger side. Look for the heading “What about driver discrimination?”

Also look at the comment below from John on another idea why this happens.

Christiano Fernandez

According to your definition then, the “narrative” being pushed is “Uber is sexist towards female drivers!” It is still the whole gender inequality nonsense and it has no place in the gig economy. Like you said, Uber doesn’t determine that a driver based on race or gender gets a certain number of ride request based on their race or gender. So obviously, the app is not sexist or racist. But that’s what the Mashable article is suggesting which is absurd or it’s trying to suggest that narrative that even in the Uber driving business, women are “unfairly” paid. I mean, why else was that article published and with that corresponding headline? Furthermore, riders seldom reject drivers based on their race or gender. The article you shared is drivers being racist. This is not what’s being discussed. The simple reason why women make less than men doing Uber is because they don’t work long hour shifts. It’s simple.

W. Curtis Preston

Again… they pushed no narrative. Nowhere in the article do they even ASK what causes the gap. They merely wrote the same thing Harry wrote. There is an earnings gap in both gender and race in the rideshare world. That is not pushing a narrative. That is stating a fact. I implore you to read the article again and show me anywhere where it suggests that Uber is sexist, the app is sexist, riders are sexist, etc. It merely points out the FACT that women earn less on the platform.

You, OTOH, are pushing a narrative when you say, “the whole gender inequality nonsense.” You clearly believe that such a gap doesn’t even exist, which it clearly does in almost every working area. But I don’t want to argue that point. If you’re not convinced of the problem given the dearth of evidence out there, I’m not going to change your mind.

You clearly didn’t read what I wrote, as I told you specifically which header to look for in the article I referenced. Let me quote it for you. “However, as you could imagine, it’s a good possibility that drivers are unfairly being cancelled on because of their race and, even more importantly, potentially rated lower because of their race too.” You suggest — without any proof — that riders don’t get cancelled on due to race.

So you complain that another article is “pushing a narrative” when all it did is list the facts. Then you clearly push a narrative and make a statement of supposed fact without any facts to back it up. You do see the irony here, right?

My personal opinion is that women make less on Uber/Lyft is that they tend to drive daytime hours when no surge happens. In fact whatever the opposite of surge happens during the day. Everyone knows it’s the evening and nighttime hours where the money is. Fewer women tend to drive those hours, so they make less. And you know what? I still think that sucks. It sucks that women in our society have to be afraid to drive at night. This is not the case in some other cultures on this planet where the crime rate is much lower. So yes, I still blame society a bit for this wage gap. Now THAT’s pushing a narrative.

Kelly

It is a very subtle narrative granted but it’s there none the less, unless you qualify statements like “women get paid less for the ‘same job'” with “women don’t work as much or as hard therefore get paid less” see the subtle but important difference?

Christiano Fernandez

Curtis, they are implying that even within Uber, sexism exists in terms of wage gaps between the genders. Indirectly, that’s what the title of the article and message of the article was trying to suggest. Since my complaint, they have changed the title and language of the article.

Fail Bot

But the gender pay gap is a lie. It is a narrative. It’s a twisting of statistics. It looks at all jobs and divides by total pay among people, ignoring that women and men have chosen different jobs that inherently pay differently. When accounting for differences in jobs, the gap disappears.

thomasah

I agree that Uber does not discriminate .I work on the weekends. Friday from about 5:30PM to 3AM, Saturday from about 1pM to 3AM and Sunday from 1PM to 8 or 9PM. That is about 30 hours a weekend. in 2 1/2 days. I assume women have “home” responsibilities, that men do not have, prohibiting them from working such hours.

It looks like Mashable actually revised their article so you guys may be talking about different versions of the article 🙂

There is a wage gap but as we specifically pointed out, these numbers are self-reported. So it could be that men overstate their earnings (wouldn’t be the first time 🙂 ) or women maybe drive during times/places that aren’t as profitable. Either way, it’s interesting imo..

KW

Great work Harry! It makes me happy to read my feelings are similar to most of the drivers out there. However, I do think one TravisK@Ubercab.com registered more than one vote for “which service do you prefer to drive for?” =P

BCE9000

$15.58 an hour sounds good but it’s meaningless without some calculations related to mileage and wear and tear on vehicle. This was mentioned in the article but it was kind of brushed over.
If a driver goes 30 miles in an hour and makes $15.58. $0.30 a mile is a fair estimate for gas and maintenance. $0.30 * 30 is $10.00. $15.58 – $10.00 = $5.58 an hour.
Significantly LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE wage and that’s being generous with the miles.

W. Curtis Preston

That’s a very valid point, but let me speak to that for a moment.

First, it’s actually quite hard (I think) to actually drive 30 miles in an hour. To do that, I’d have to be driving almost constantly, literally at 30 miles per hour. I find that to be a rare occurrence. If I do hit 30 miles in an hour its because I got a long run that took me on the freeway, in which case I am probably making more than the average.

I’ve calc’d my actual CPM at $.25 (Prius), which includes fuel, depreciation, and maintenance. But even if I stick with your $.30, I’ll say this. I average about $1/mile for every mile I drive with a pax in the car. The KEY is to minimize miles I drive WITHOUT a pax in the car, because that $.70/mile profit can get eaten up pretty quickly.

I’d say that the average of $15 is probably based on a much lower average of 30 miles per hour. It would be nice if Harry had that in his survey, but honestly I’m not sure most drivers could even answer that question. They SHOULD be able to answer it as they need that number for tax purposes, but not sure they could.

Exactly, I didn’t ask this because I don’t think most drivers can calculate it – not their fault, it’s a touch calc. But I did get mileage data from this survey and we’re planning on doing a round 2 with the data 🙂 Maybe Curtis will be the one to take it on haha.

Kelly

You are exactly right BCE9000, my Mom is always harping about how important it is to factor in “wear and tear” as they called it in ye old good days (she’s an accountant). Of course I ignored the advice until I was staring down a 1500 bill for just replacing the intake manifold on my damn car. Now it’s the breaks, timing belt, tires, seals, sensors and friggijn’ TRIM of all things 🙁 Thousands and thousands of dollars it costs just in UPKEEP.

Granted I would have to do that anyway, but the bills come that much faster when you are hauling people around.

I am quickly becoming a novice mechanic to try and mitigate some of these costs, it’s still better than a car payment… I guess.

markk

Some drivers here in wichita posted what they made on a forum for uber and I do not remember exactly but I think it was in the 350 and up a little range a week. that is why I blew off the idea of driving for uber here. Now thinking of buying a car and doing it but still not sure

anon

Id love to know the results of which cars are the most popular to drive for uber

Have any of you ever been to a group of Lyft Uber drivers? The majority is not white. At least not white like you mean white. This “white” includes Middle Easterners, which is racially technically true, but confuses your survey ethnically.

Good point, in some cities, there are definitely higher percentages of ESL/immigrant drivers. Don’t think it affects our results but definitely possible that non-white drivers are under-reported in our audience since it’s in English.

This is a nice job you did and I thank you for all you for the industry. I’ve been driving for Uber in New Orleans for almost two years and we have Uber and Lyft here. I tried to sign up for Lyft as a driver and the process was bogged down by a a bad app and a “no show” trainer. I was already doing well with Uber so it was fine. Lyft has never gained much traction here in the Crescent City and I don’t find it surprising. I’m also surprised you didn’t have enough data to include New Orleans info. I have been running here for almost two years. The NOLA two year anniversary is in two weeks. YTD I’m averaging $21.61 per hour pre expense. Last year it was $17.15 per hour for the year. My income is up year over year and the incentive pay has evaporated so this year is much better in real earnings. I don’t work weekend nights. I’m sure most drivers here make much more per hour than I do. My cost per mile is not real high. Gas currently is 1.99 a gallon here and I got my tires rotated, new windshield wipers and synthetic OC for $83. I drive a 2016 Hyundai Elantra.

Sean Heusdens

The joke here in Milwaukee, drive prefer Lyft. I started for Uber Nov. 2016. Then started for Lyft Dec 26. Do not work both apps it hurts your rating and hurts your earning. LIFT has great support with a mentor, however, after mentor meeting very poor support. GOT TICKET FOR AMP. No help. If you talk support you get a robot message over and over. It cut and paste support no is real listening at Lyft. You have same issues few time you see the same robot reply. Lyft AMP is not Legal it’s PINK. In general it almost universal law forward face light on vehicle has Amber or White. NOTE Uber beacon is white light and change color also on arriving. Hello it white
Because uber know have color showing before you arrive it illegal. Lyft place their driver at risk of officer judgement if get ticket for the AMP. Just glowing PINK Mustache is also illegal. LIFT in milwaukee area pays less then uber. Hourly rates do not apply you get payed by trip Miles and minute. In Milwaukee uber pays 3.37 per smallest trip Lyft 2.87 per trip.Uber charges 6.10 for that trip. LIFT charges 6.10 to 6.38. Nonsurge not prime time. Also, as the trip get longer, same address and pick up and drop off on longer trip uber paid 22.97 and Lyft paid 14.87. Two trip in same day no prime time and no surge. The Lyft customer paid more then Uber customer. The customer and driver decide to check paid and customer email Received after the 2nd trip arrive the end address. I bet Uber or Lyft would not like but it happen. Uber show An accurate 25 % uber fee and booking charge for the ride. Lyft ride was showing the company stealing a high % then they say Lyft fee of 25 % basic on the customer . Lyft pays less and longer the ride lyft pay Incredibly less . The customer charge was amost the same but Lyft charge the customer .30 more then Uber. UBER Has office, Uber give you a gas card, and free instant pay. Hands down Uber treats and pays it driver better then Lyft. ALSO CHARGE IT CUSTOMER 10 TO 40 CENT MORE THEN Uber. Both should increasing driver rate but are decrease rate. Uber the best to drive for hand down. For customer Lyft May over charge you by Nickels and dimes over uber but almost the same rate. I ONLY driver for Uber but can’t drive for Lyft. I email Lyft Threatening to quit and they over charge and under paying drivers and not protecting the driver with illegal AMP against tickets. LYFT did deactivated my account . I did have 4.7 rating at point got ticket , but did drop If lost the ticket I was going quit and request deactivating my account. NOW GOT LEAVE TO FIGHT THE TICKET FOR ILLEGAL AMP

Ruven Golan

Thank u Harry!
I’m 74 drive in the greater Miami area. Had my own successful farm for many years – I know how to count and calculate. The gig here pays NET minimum wage plus (not much) on good days and minus minimum wage (a lot less) on bad days. Uber is shady to put it mildly. For a retiree this work is a great way to keep off the couch, and also for those who cannot speak or are not fluent in English. Both Uber and Lyft take advantage of this in Miami.

giovani cocci

Hey Harry… great insights into the industry! Just curious… what percentage of the overall rideshare driver population does your audience represent you think? Do you feel your audience, and survey responders, are a representation of the majority of drivers? I think that would be cool to know!

Hey Giovanni…we’ve got hundreds of thousands of drivers coming to our site every month so while it’s definitely not a majority of drivers, I think it’s pretty representative of the average driver with a slight tilt towards newbies and those who are savvy drivers.

About

I'm Harry, the owner and founder of The Rideshare Guy Blog and Podcast. I used to be a full-time engineer but now I'm a rideshare blogger! I write about my experience driving for Uber, Lyft, and other services and my goal is to help drivers earn more money by working smarter, not harder. Read More…

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